Speaking up for the Freedom Riders
Writing a 1961 editorial supporting the Freedom Riders earned a student journalist a Klan cross burning and threats of expulsion.
Author
Liz Ryan
Liz Ryan is a graduate student in journalism at the University of Alabama and is an Investigator with the Louisiana State University (LSU) Cold Case Project. Liz previously served as the Administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at the U.S. Department of Justice between 2022-2025.
The killing of Sammy Younge Jr. and 60 years of civil rights activism
The 1966 slaying of Samuel Younge Jr. by a white man became a turning point for, Wendell Paris, who vowed to fight injustice forever.
The untold story of a Black WWII veteran’s lynching
In 1943, Black minister Edward Green was kidnapped, tortured and killed by white men in Alabama. No one was ever arrested.
In 1960, Auburn students reported on the beating of a Black man, despite pushback
Student journalists at The Auburn Plainsman defied university officials and threats to report on a brutal 1960 beating, facing backlash for their groundbreaking coverage.
60 years later, no justice for teen shot by Birmingham police
On September 15, 1963, a Birmingham police officer shot and killed Black teen Johnnie Robinson, a tragic event that unfolded hours after a church bombing.
The 1963 murder of Virgil Lamar Ware and a fight for remembrance
His death on September 15, 1963, was overshadowed by the church bombing, but his story is finally being told.
Rogers Hamilton: No justice for murdered Black teen
Lynched in 1957 Alabama after waving at white girls, Rogers Hamilton's murder remained unsolved for decades.
Willie Edwards Jr.: The Klan sought to erase his memory, his family made sure it endured
Ultimately, his killers were never convicted of his murder, but Wille Edwards Jr.'s memory lives on.
90 years on: Remembering the Scottsboro Boys
Their legacy endures in several U.S. Supreme Court decisions recognizing Americans have the right to receive effective legal counsel.
Tuscaloosa v. United Klans of America
A little-known clash in Tuscaloosa in 1964, known as Bloody Tuesday, was ground zero in the city's struggle over civil rights.